


run.

by bumblebeddie



Category: IT (Movies - Muschietti), IT - Stephen King
Genre: Additional Warnings Apply, Gay Eddie Kaspbrak, M/M, Track Star Eddie Kaspbrak, basically just eddie, eventual reddie maybe
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-03
Updated: 2020-04-02
Packaged: 2021-03-01 01:54:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,964
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23437261
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bumblebeddie/pseuds/bumblebeddie
Summary: It was a simple cough. He had choked on his own breath, maybe spit, maybe a fucking cheerio, but it was one little cough. One fucking cough, and here he was, sitting in the waiting room of the Derry Emergency Room.Trigger warnings: verbal and mental abuse, hospitals, drugs/medicine, etc. Read with caution.
Relationships: Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier
Kudos: 4





	run.

**Author's Note:**

> It's just Eddie, man.

It was a simple cough. He had choked on his breath, maybe spit, maybe a fucking cheerio, but it was one little cough. One fucking cough, and here he was, sitting in the waiting room of the Derry Emergency Room. 

Eddie sat in one of the uncomfortably stiff plastic chairs, arms folded across his chest with a scowl on his face. His mother, Sonia, stood at the counter, demanding they take Eddie immediately. 

“He has asthma, you don’t understand. He could die-” 

“Ma’am, please calm down. We will get him in as soon as possible.” 

“I will not calm down, my son is dying!” 

“Ma’am, if you don’t back away from this desk I will have to call security. There are people here bleeding out. People with broken limbs and severed fingers. Please wait. Thank you.” Eddie smiled slightly and mentally cheered the receptionist on. 

Sonia grabbed her purse and walked back to Eddie. She set her purse down and kneeled in front of her son, cupping his face with her pudgy hand. Eddie grimaced and forced himself not to move away. He’d leaned into her “comfort” too many times, and he was sick of it. Especially in the moment. 

“Eddie bear, just hang in there for a bit, okay? Mommy will get you to a doctor, baby, it’ll be okay. Take your inhaler for me, Eddie,” Sonia reached into her purse and gave Eddie his inhaler. He held it in his hand, just staring at it for a moment. “Eddie.” 

He did as he was told, as he always did, and put the inhaler back in her purse. 

“Thank you, honey. I’m going to go talk to the receptionist, okay, baby?” Eddie nodded, and she smiled. She got up again and stormed to the counter, once again asking for a doctor. Eddie stared at his mother as he felt his lungs start to go numb again. 

The thing was, when you take an inhalant too many times, it’ll start to fuck with you. When Eddie takes his inhaler, his lungs feel worse. It was as if his mother was poisoning him. He knew she wasn’t, he’d looked into it already and it had been proven false. 

Despite it all, he took the drugs. He took almost everything he gave her; the ones he could get away with, he flushed. He knew eventually she’d figure it out. What could she do, though? Lock him up? Force him to take them? No. He was stronger than that, stronger than her, and they both knew it. That’s why neither of them tried anything. They were constantly in limbo, avoiding the fact that Eddie was okay. 

Eddie was getting more and more fed up with her shit. The other day, she tried to convince him he could have some random illness, as always, and he locked himself in his room for hours. She screamed at him for a bit, but eventually gave up. He knew she couldn’t do anything. 

Of course, he stayed. He was still a kid, he had to. She practically owned him. He loved her, still… He knew it was his job to take care of her when she needed him. Now that made him feel sick to his stomach. 

“Alright, Ms. Kaspbrak, right this way, then,” A nurse sighed and met Sonia in the hall. 

“Eddie!” She shouted, and snapped her fingers at him like he’s a fucking dog. Eddie pursed his lips and stood, following his mother and the nurse. 

The proceedings went as usual: The nurse checks his vitals, asks questions, writes information. Doctor (‘very attractive, sharp jawline’ Eddie noted mentally with a bit of a blush) comes in half an hour later and Sonia gets mad at his “tardiness”. He looks over the information, and suggests simple things like water. Sonia demands a better treatment...

“Ms. Kaspbrak, I assure you, your son is okay,” the doctor said with a smile. Sonia shook her head. 

“No, no, I won’t take your simple diagnosis. Clearly, there is something wrong with my son.” She gestured to Eddie, and the doctor followed. Eddie took advantage of the situation and smiled with a shrug. The doctor held back a laugh and turned back to Sonia. 

“I’m sorry, ma’am, there’s nothing else necessary. He’s in tip-top shape!” The doctor winked at Eddie, causing him to blush. Eddie mentally cursed himself for getting butterflies; that was all something he’d never get used to. 

“You know what, no. You’re just a horrid doctor. My son is sick,” Sonia shouted, grabbing her purse. She turned to Eddie. “Come on, baby, we’re leaving.” 

“Goodbye, Ms. Kaspbrak. And goodbye, Eddie,” the doctor said with a smile and a wave. Eddie smiled back, then quickly followed his mother out the door of the hospital. 

Eddie stayed quiet during the car ride home; Sonia grumbled the whole way, but Eddie tuned her out and happily watched the trees fly by through the window. 

When they got into the house, Sonia had Eddie sit at the kitchen table. 

“I know my son,” Sonia mumbled as she grabbed their medical supplies. She did the same thing any nurse would have done, without a clue what she was doing. “Mm. I knew it. You’ve got a cold, Eddie-bear. I’ll call the pharmacy and get you a prescription. This could turn into pneumonia, with your asthma!” 

“A cold? But I only coughed once, it was just a little spit, Ma,” Eddie retorted softly, careful as to not aggravate her. 

“No, Eddie. I know your immune system better than anyone,” Sonia said, turning to glare at him. “I’ll run out tomorrow and get your medicine, okay? Go rest in your room, I’ll make you some soup for your throat.” 

“I don’t have a sore throat,” Eddie said with a bit of force, now. “I haven’t coughed since I did that one time earlier, Mom. I’m okay. I’m not sick.” 

“Eddie-bear, you know that’s not true. Don't argue with me-” 

“Mom!” Eddie yelled, then caught himself. He softened his gaze and his voice. “Seriously, Ma, I’m fine. Please, just let me go sleep it off. I’ll be okay in the morning.” 

Sonia shook her head. “Eddie Joseph Kaspbrak, I am sick and tired of your attitude. Keep it up, and you’ll get grounded. You know I worry, Eddie, baby, and I know you’re sick. I just want to protect y-” 

“I don’t need protection from you, Mom! I’m fucking seventeen, I’ll be eighteen in a month! I know my body, I know how you role, I know when I’m okay and when I’m not. I’m fine!” He shouted, forcing Sonia back. She stared at him in horror. 

“Edward-” She started, anger apparent in her voice. “Go to your r-” 

With that, Eddie turned on his heel and bolted out the front door. He stopped at the end of the porch for a moment, realizing what he’d done, but shook it off. If he was going to do this, he had to do it now. “Fuck it!” 

He jumped over the porch steps and ran down the lawn right as his mother burst out the door. “Eddie! Eddie come back here! Don’t do this to me again, Eddie! Eddie!” 

He picked up his run and moved forward in a dead sprint down the street. His mother’s voice faded out, replaced by the wind in his ears and his feet slamming on the pavement. He turned corners with no real sense of location, ran through the park without stopping, jumped over trash cans to avoid stopping for anything. 

It was dark, with only street lamps and the moon to light Eddie’s path. He laughed with the wind in his hair and an immense sense of freedom in his chest. His “asthma” washed away, the thought of his mother gone. All that was there was Eddie and the ground, Eddie and Derry, Eddie and the air he breathes. 

Eventually, he slowed a bit, still running. He ran down every street he could, planning on going forever and ever. 'Like Forrest Gump', he thought.

He eventually stopped downtown to catch his breath. He smiled at the sky and screamed, arms thrown up to grab the moon. He came down from his high and stood on the corner, smiling still. Lights suddenly shown on the street; Red, white, blue… Eddie jumped and sprinted down an alley, then hid behind a dumpster. The cop car passed, and Eddie reemerged. He knew it was for him. He knew his mother called the fucking cops. In a moment of panic, Eddie picked up and started sprinting again. Rather than free, he felt afraid. He ran again, down the street, to God knows where, just trying to get out, out, out. 

At some point, his mind went blank. His lungs numbed out, but instead of fear and medicine, it was from running. It wasn’t painful, but almost pleasant. Eddie was just going, going, going… No concept of time or place. And he smiled. He smiled again, like before, but this time, out of love for something new. He’d found something. 

He picked up speed and ran down the street as fast as he could. He ran faster, harder, and more than he ever had in his life. He ran past the train tracks, through trees, and over the kissing bridge. He stopped dead when he crossed the bridge and the Derry city-limit sign came into view. 

He could go. Just go. To leave this shithole and never come back. To leave his mother, his past, his “sickness”, his identity… His friends. Only then did he turn around. He thought about the losers… About Richie. About losing them forever. He shook his head and jogged back into town. 

Not tonight. Not now. Not when the others were still stuck here. He couldn’t do that to them, betray them like that, without even a goodbye. 

He couldn’t go home. He knew he couldn’t, he just didn’t know where he could go. 

And then, like a beacon of light, he remembered Beverly Marsh. Bev left home every night, her aunt didn’t mind. Where did she go? To meet Richie and smoke at the Quarry. So that’s where Eddie went. He ran to the Quarry, in hopes that his friends were still there. He knew if he found Bev, she'd let him stay with her; take him with her and hype him up for his bravery. That was the beauty of Beverly Marsh; she could understand every one of the losers if they wanted her to. She had this fearless honesty and empathy about her, which was exactly what made them all love her so much. She had to be at the quarry with Richie. Eddie's watch read 10:32 pm, so why wouldn’t they be? Maggie didn’t mind either, if they were safe. 

Of course, when he arrived, he was still alone. Hot cigarette butts were there, half-assedly buried, but no Bev or Richie. 

Eddie pursed his lips and walked to the edge of the cliff. He peered over at the dark water below, so different now from what it was during the day. Here, it was a beacon for stupidity, freedom, and bad decisions... A high Eddie didn't realize he'd craved. Once again, he was struck by impulse. What’s the worst that could happen? Besides, it’s the perfect way to get back at his mother. Getting wet, swimming out in the cold. A big ‘fuck you’ to everything. But again, he knew he wouldn’t. 'Cautious, or cowardly?' He asked himself with a sneer. He shook his head at his ideation.

He turned again and walked toward the town. 

In a blur, he was running again. Then, he was flying. Floating. 

He didn’t regret jumping until he came up for air.

**Author's Note:**

> The Forrest Gump reference is a bit iffy timing-wise, but not if you ignore dates! (Eddie should've been 18 or so when the movie came out, but we'll blur the dates lmao). 
> 
> Anyway, let me know if you'd like me to continue this. I have some ideas for it if you would!
> 
> twitter: @eds_spagheddie


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